A math thread would be cool.

Throw in some cosmology posts and we're good to go.

The question with math thread is: what should it be about. I mean....
JM did post in his blog few smaller problems from his classes, that I found totally pretty.


I believe that it would be pretty difficult to find something in the first two years of math study that I couldn't explain. So I can totally give a hand there to whoever needs some help. In the higher math/physics my area in a broad sense is "computational physics". In more detail: density functional theory, numerical solution of differential equations and pretty deep and applied CFD and everything around CFD from theory to direct industrial applications.

But there is a lot more stuff that I find interesting but don't have any deeper knowledge.

J has shared that doing math problems gives him a buzz; I relate to that and guess other posters do too. Both him and Alobar have mentioned the riemann hypothesis as a holy grail.

I think there is enough commonality for posters to contribute to a smorgasbord of puzzles and theory. If it evolves into something linear it would be a special thread, and if not it would still be rewarding to me.

I’ve read some really good books on the riemann hypothesis.

**** it, start a math thread then. I’d start off with something like the P=NP problem because it’s pretty easy for a layman to understand and it’s one of the most important unsolved problems.

I’m excited at the prospect of the math thread both so I can lurk and learn something and because mly will have a new place to post her art.

^This


Also, jmakin, you should consider your opportunity costs. Obviously Silicon Valley, which is only an ~8 hour U-haul drive away from you, will provide the best opportunity for you to establish your career and resume. This isn't my opinion. This is a fact.

Moving up north for a few years to work at a large company or a start up is the pro move. After that you get to call your own shots as an engineer and can land a gig anywhere in the world.

Questioning the annual salary vs the cost of living in the short term is a mistake imo. You should be questioning where you'd prefer to live in the world 10 years from now.

Maybe even ELD is hiring

Good luck.

What do I have to do to get ED to be jmakin's boss irl

one time in my entire life dealer!!

There’s a ****load of tech companies in irvine, CA

Number theory is fascinating, though I've never been a specialist in it.

However, I'm surprised that you mentioned linear algebra in the same sentence - it's a freshman course, more like a kindergarten than real math.

Its advanced continuations are functional analysis (it was my specialty at uni; particularly, the theory of Hilbert spaces) and perhaps differential geometry; which one would you fancy to discuss?

I guess i should’ve been more clear, applications of linear algebra interest me a lot and have a lot to do with what I’m working on lately

I know it’s a terminating subject that doesnt go any farther

Very true.

That doesn't change my previous post or Chop's post either tho.

Good luck whatever you decide.

J,

There’s plenty of opportunity in SoCal now. Sak is right about SF being a better early tech career place, but you can also get on a similar engineering career trajectory in SoCal. What you want is a Silicon Valley style company, like a SNAP or earlier stage venture funded company. Some good venture firms down there like upfront ventures. I’d look through their portfolio company list if I were an engineer looking. The edge SF Area has is infinite options to move around if you want to switch companies or career track.

But mainly if I were you specifically, I’d prob try to work at Blizzard.

The Diablo team at Blizzard is hiring new grads.

I would like to see Blizzard release Diablo IV and a next-gen Diablo 2 LOD at the same time to see which one was better-received after, say, 6 months, 2 years, and 5 years.

J,

I obviously have 0 experience at job hunting and serious programming, but maybe my random idea will give you food for thought.

I don't see anything wrong with using your existing Java skillset, but if you're opposed so much to the idea of using Java in the long term, what do you think about learning Rust as a hobby (to increase your future earnings potential) while doing a Java job in the short term?

What I've read about Rust from random sources is that its compiler is really strict, and I thought it would appeal to someone who likes Java. At least for myself, I know that I'd need a rigorous compiler to discipline me and make debugging less of a pain.

The Rust ecosystem is yet emerging, and there seems to be less competition in its job market than in the Java one, according to StackOverflow's 2018 developer survey. (The salary/experience graph represents worldwide salary stats; for the US-specific ones, see the US part of the list of top-paying technologies. In the US, Java yet pays $100K a year.) You'd likely need to relocate to get a job in an emerging language, though.

Jmakin,

You’re down here in Irvine? Stay, the opportunities for you here are plentiful.

Are you working on AI? There is a lot of linear algebra in AI hardware.

I would love to have a discussion on linear algebra and computer arithmetic.

fyp

Lol, if he working on AI he would be looking at a different stratosphere of salaries and companies, and already have a stack of offers without real regard for his actual ability.

J,

There are others who can give better, and California-specific advice than me. I'd listen to stuff LL and El Diablo say here in particular. If I were you I'd:

1. Decide if you want to spend your next marginal hour becoming a better professional hearthstone player or professional developer.

2. Look into generating evidence that you are a good developer, particularly in team developer situations. It's fairly unlkely someone is going to hire you as a sole/lead developer at an early stage ventire, as your first job. But the big differentiators I've seen for new grads are:
A. Thoughtful/intellectually curious vs thoughtless implementer (shows ability to grow into a future leader)
B. Ability to work in a team - big difference between solo work and collaborative.

The big mechanism I tend to see is contribution to an open source project. That might be uninteresting to you so you might have to find another.

That is good. Like this post because it is in my POV a lot more realistic than to say "JM everyone wants you.".

I know he isnt researching AI and is finishing his bachelors.

My point is that AI hardware uses a lot of linear algebra and thats a field he might want to transition.

Also, I wouldnt mind having a linear algebra discussion in OOT.

I am all for linalg. I too believe that a math thread could be fun.

cit, everyone in /programming tells me independent projects are pretty worthless for entry positions. i think i really need to make a thread.

j,

Building something on your own, unless it's quite impressive technically or gets some good adoption, is unlikely to impress anyone.

Building something as part of a team is fundamentally different.

Some people hiring entry level developers don't want to have to teach from the ground up things like git, code review, sprint/scrum/agile/whatever, ... Some do. Idk.

Contributing to open source projects checks a lot of boxes in terms of providing evidence of your skill, and seems to be a pretty standard question/ask in most engineering interviews these days.